Adding a Sippy Cup to a Breasfed Only 10 Month Old

You don't have to stop breastfeeding no matter what the doctor says. You may want to pump and put some breast milk in the sippy cup to begin with. and a drop on the outside of the spout before putting it near his mouth. He is used to the taste and may take it better that way. I would also go with the soft spout sippy cups and not the hard plastic ones to start out. I am not sure if this will work for you, but it worked for me. I wish you good luck and may your child take the sippy cup like you want him to :-)

D.

No offense, but FIRE YOUR PEDIATRICIAN! What is he thinking?! That your son should be drinking JUICE instead of BREASTMILK?! He is on crack! Ok, done. Listen to your intuition and your son. If he only likes breastmilk and water, consider yourself lucky!! And remember that weight averages today are much higher because of all the obese children, so if he's under the weight average, then you're probably right on track. My daughter is tall and skinny, just like her dad. She is still very active and happy, and has plenty of wet and poopy diapers (though she is potty training herself at the moment).
Breastfeeding your baby is the best thing you can do you for your child, the longer the better. If you can make it to 2 years, that is awesome! The World Health Organization recommends AT LEAST 2 years, and the worldwide average weaning age is closer to 3-4 years old. We have one of the worst breastfeeding records for a developed nation, and one of the highest infant mortality rates as well for a developed nation. Possibly a coincidence.

Anyways, if your son is having enough wet diapers and bowel movements, then I wouldn't worry about him getting enough liquids. My daughter was 19 lbs for months, it seems, but shot up in height. Now at 21 months, she just got to 23 lbs, but she's 34". Like I said, tall and skinny. Don't worry too much about weight unless there are other signs, like listlessness, or not many wet diapers. Keep on introducing the cup (I recommend Klean Kanteen - no toxid plastics). When he's ready, he'll go for it. I don't think my daughter got the hang of them until closer to a year. She just liked chewing on them, too.

Another GREAT support system is the La Leche League. Go to www.llli.org to find your local leader and to find out when they meet.

KEEP BREASTFEEDING!!! BREAST IS BEST!!!

I can't believe your doctor is telling you to stop breastfeeding to start on a sippy cup!! Really I'm sure he's getting enough fluid anyways through your milk and other foods. You might want to look up the recommendation about how much water is okay.

Hi M.,
When my last baby was 9 months old she liked to eat at the table with all the other siblings, mom, and dad, well everyone else had a glass of cold milk at their plates and so she wanted one too. I just held the cup to her lips and tipped it up. She drank long and hard, but she loved it too much she no longer wanted me. I was so sad because I knew this was my last baby. (5 C-sections) She never went to a bottle or sippy cup, just me then a glass. She loved the cold stuff to drink.
Are you sure you want your son to have the sippy cup?
good luck in all, M.

M.,

Good for you for sticking with your commitment to nurse your child for a year. Even if you decided you had to stop now, make sure you are doing it in complete awareness and you are doing it because it is what you truly feel is best for your son. That said, he is getting what he needs from your breastmilk. What else does he REALLY need to be drinking right now? If he only drinks water then just go with that and don't worry about the juice. If you are concerned about his weight, have you tried offering more protein foods or fruit smoothies with protien in them? There are lots of great healthy ways to boost your son's weight if it is an issue. Your son is not yet one. He will eventually learn to drink from a sippy cup, whether the transition is very very slow, or you go cold turkey. BTW...19lbs at 10months is pretty much on track. The average weight for a one year old is only 20lbs. As long as your son is healthy and eats a variety of healthy foods (as much as a 10 month will eat:), you need not worry about his weight.
What exactly are you expecting or wanting from your son regarding his drinking/nursing? What are you really thinking/feeling about his bottle and sippy cup refusal? Who is it a problem for? Do you notice your son takes his own time transitioning with other things? How are you really feeling about nursing your son now? Are you breastfeeding from within? That is, are you nursing him because you truly want to, with your heart and inner knowing. Or are you nursing because it's "the right thing to nurse a child for one year"? There is a difference. How does it feel in your body when you have to nurse your son?
What is your inner wise compassionate mamma saying to you? Now, what will you do next?

In peace and light,
A.
mamma of 4, Birth and Parenting Mentor
www.birthingfromwithin.com

Have you tried having your husband give him the sippy cup, I've heard other mothers that breast feed say that their child won't take a bottle or cup from them, but they will from someone else.

What about adding a little juice to the water to make it sweet? After all that sweet breastmilk, it's no wonder he's not crazy about plain old water. :) Maybe making it taste yummy will make him interested?

Hey M.,

My daughter was the same way. She NEVER took a bottle and when I decided to give her a sippy cup she thought it was a toy. I let her play with it and would occasionally put it in her mouth correctly. Eventually she got it. It took about three weeks for her to realize that it wasn't a toy. She never took anything but water in it though. I tried to breastmilk once and it infuriated her. So water it was.
I think with time, your daughter will catch on.

Hi M.,
My daughter is almost 11 months now and has refuse bottles since she was 5 weeks. She won't drink out of a regular sippy cup either. We have had some luck with the straw cups though. We taught her how to drink out of a straw by putting a straw in water and then putting our finger over the top. Then lift the straw out of the water and put it in your little one's mouth. When you move your finger the water will flow into his mouth. Then do the same thing and see if he will suck the water out of the bottom. We just did this a lot and then started showing her how to just suck out of the top of the straw. After about a month she was drinking out of a straw and we got her the munchkin brand cups with soft straws. She does good with water but will not drink breastmilk or fomula out of them. She only wants it straight from the source. When she turns a year we will try it with cows milk and hope for the best. She is still nursing 4 or 5 times a day but I would like to be able to wean her after she is a year.

My daughter never took a bottle either. She went right from breastfeeding to a cup. She never caught on to the sippy cup. We were able to find a free flowing cup with a spout. ( or take the little plastic part out that makes it no-spill). We had to just pour it in her mouth a little at a time for a while until she got used to it. We added a little cereal to some formula, that way it was a little thicker and she wouldn't choke on it so much. My daughter didn't even figure out how to suck from a straw until she was 3. He'll get it eventually. Try having your husband feed him from the cup for a while. Good luck.

Hi M.,
I have a daughter who was the same way, she refused anything except the breast right up until her first birthday. My boys were eating baby food and taking bottles and sippy cups at 5 and 6 months, but not my daughter. And we did have to go cold turkey, to the point that I ended up not being with her during the day so she didn't have a choice, and it took me staying out of town a couple of nights so she couldn't nurse at night. When I came home she was taking a sippy cup and eating meals with us.
I wouldn't worry about pushing the juice. My 2 younger kids (2 and 3) still don't drink much juice, so I just keep their cups full of milk and they're doing fine.
Keep offering the cup and different foods. Eventually he'll take them.

I would go cold turkey. Breastfeed till he is 1 then just do it. I did that with my twin boys and one went straight to a sippy cup and the other refused for 3 days!!! I only feed him milk at night through a bottle but finally he did it on the 3rd day and he never looked back. Its really just a force of wills. He wanted the bottle!

I took out the valve and gave my daughter juice with a little water in it. The sweet treat was enough to get her to learn to drink from the cup. A few oz of juice (6 or less) a day won't hurt anyone. After a while, I kept adding more water and less juice.

Because she never would use a cup with a valve in it, the sippies were so messy to carry or use in the car, etc. So I introduced those straw cups that click closed. That way I could carry water around with me. She took to the straws right away and never used a sippy cup again. You might try those - they require different mouth placement and don't remind a child of suckling/nursing so much. With my son, we skipped the sippies altogether and went straight to straws.

They could both use a straw before they were one. I was glad to not have the additional problem of trying to wean them off the sippy cup in another year or so!

my daughter never got anything but breastmilk till she was one. no food no water. don't worry. the charts the doctor use are for formula fed babies.
check out www.mothering.com - go to the "discuss" tab and scroll down - lots of breastfeeding forums with great real advice
(and no reason for juice - it is all sugar with no fiber and promotes cavities)